DR. RICARDO L. RODRIGUEZ
Founder, Ricardo L. Rodriguez MD, Baltimore Plastic Surgeon
Medical Director, Cosmetic Surgery Facility, LLC
Board-Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Dr. Ricardo L. Rodriguez, a Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon in Baltimore, Maryland shares his expertise and vast career experiences with various plastic surgery procedures. In his articles Dr. Rodriguez offers trusted guidance on elective surgery, helping you make informed decisions on how to look and feel your best.
I have been doing the Vertical Scar Breast reduction since 1989, having learned it in Nice, France, from Dr. Claude Lassus, a French plastic surgeon, who is the originator of the technique. When I left France, I started doing the technique at Yale, where I was a faculty member in the plastic surgery department. I presented the first scientific paper on the technique in the US in 1992 at the 25th anniversary meeting of the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons.
What type of incision should you get for your Breast augmentation procedure? In addition to the implant size this is another very important decision that you need to make. It seems to me when I ask a patient whether they have a preference as to what kind of breast incision they want, the most common answer is that they want the type of incision that they have seen on a friend. Likewise, the second most common comment is “I don’t want such and such incision because somebody I know had one and it looks bad”. The truth is every type of incision has its pros and cons. Here is my explanation of the types of Breast augmentation incisions…
I have been looking at some of the breast implant forums, and there are a lot of issues related to breast scars. It seems most surgeons use the Wise pattern, or Anchor scar, and some use the Benelli scar. A few surgeons use the Vertical scar or the Crescent scar. I use all of these breast techniques, except the Wise pattern scar. I feel that the Wise pattern technique makes unnecessary scars.
For months, we have been hearing the debate on ways to reduce healthcare costs. Thus far, nearly everything introduced requires vast amount of government expenditures and seriously upsets people who actually like the health care plan that they currently have. It is astounding that THE most important way to lower health care cost rarely , if ever, gets discussed. So how do we lower health care costs? As the Governor of Minnesota would say—prepare to be dazzled.
The year 2010 ushers in a new decade where science , beauty, and your own fat make a marriage that promises to deliver one of the most disruptive medical technologies of the century. Dr. Ricardo Rodriguez, a Yale trained Plastic Surgeon believes that stem cells from your own fat will lead the cosmetic surgery trends.
The choice of anesthesia for Breast Augmentation are either General Anesthesia or IV anesthesia. With IV anesthesia the recovery is very quick, less nausea, and no lousy feeling the days after surgery. In addition, the risk of getting a blood clot or pulmonary embolism is almost eliminated.
The Crescent lift mastopexy is a surgical technique used when only a minimal Breast lift is needed. It avoids a lot of scars, yet lifts the breast to result in a perky breast. Read about it this Breast lift technique performed by Dr. Ricardo Rodriguez in Baltimore.
Getting the best results for a Body lift is a function of the surgeon’s surgical markings, and taking out the right amounts of fat and skin. Surgical markings will seal the fate of how the wound is closed. Taking out too much fat and skin can be a big problem for the closure. If the top layer closer is too tight, the wound will separate post operatively. I believe that the Lockwood technique provides the best method for excising precisely the right amount of fat and skin.
The average amount of operating room time required for the Lower body lift procedure is 7-8 hours and it can be performed under general anesthesia or IV sedation. With the procedure taking so long, it is normal to ask yourself these questions: ‘How can risks be reduced with a Body lift?”, “Can the choice of anesthesia reduce the risks?”
The Liquid facelift. I first heard about it from Heidi Rebuck, a Juvederm and Botox rep from Allergan. “The Liquid facelift” is basically what I did with my male patient, using a filler with Botox, but I think these pictures of “The Liquid facelift” are worth a thousand words. Basically, the patient in the photo (courtesy of Allergan) had Botox to forehead and “crow’s feet” wrinkles around the eyes, with tissue fillers to the lips, nasolabial folds (folds that go from side of nostrils towards the corners of the mouth), and possibly under the eyes. The change is dramatic and substantial.
In 2006, I gave a lecture on the Body lift procedure to other surgeons in my hospital. In gathering the information for my talk, two things struck me when reviewing the literature published by other physicians. In summary, the current literature concluded that: 1) Surgeons are still reporting complications with the Body lift procedure. These complications include wound separations and seromas 2) Plastic Surgeons are still “learning about the procedure” My impression is that surgeons are having these problems because they do not use the Lockwood technique of body lifting. I use the Lockwood technique and feel very confident with the procedure and my results. Let me give you a brief history about the Body lift procedure, and how Dr. Ted Lockwood evolved the procedure.
Restylane and Juvederm etc., are wonderful options for tissue fillers, but their effect seems to be measured in months. Sculptra can provide volume to many of the same areas, but for a longer period of time (12-24 months). This is increasingly becoming a good choice for many of my Baltimore patients.
History is full of disruptive innovations: Just look at what e-mail did to the postal industry, the Ford Model-T to the transportation industry, and Wikipedia to the traditional encyclopedia. All three of these “disruptive innovations” revolutionized their respective industries via low-cost, democratic solutions. Luckily, we are at the forefront of an exciting disruption in the healthcare industry via Apple’s upcoming iWatch.
Dr. Rodriguez explains why some people need a Lip Lift instead of a Lip augmentation. Beautiful lips are identified by a nice cupid’s bow and having the perfect amount of space between your upper lip and your nose. Find out whether you need a lip augmentation or a lip lift with Dr. Ricardo Rodriguez on his Cosmeticsurg blog.
We so often see photographs of celebrities that have duck lips. If you don’t know what I am referring to, please tune into the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and take a look at most of the women. You know the story–the lips protrude out like duck bills because too much filler is put into the lips. While Taylor wins the prize, Kyle is catching up to her. It does look terrible. So, how can YOU have fuller lips without getting duck lips?
